[Celan was dissatisifed with many of his early poems collected in Der Sand aus den Urnen (The Sand from the Urns, 1948).]

Many of these early poems are written in rhyme and most are—at least at first glance—rather romantic. More significantly, perhaps, several of them are intensely personal, especially "Nähe der Gräber" ("Nearness of Graves" …) and "Schwarze Flocken" ("Black Flakes" …). The former poem consists of five rhymed couplets, each of which is a question addressed to the poet's dead mother. The final couplet is especially poignant…. These lines offer a rare insight into Celan's mind. It was obviously difficult for him to continue to write poetry in German, yet he felt compelled to do so. Critics have noted the paradox that Celan was forced to write in the language of the Nazis, but have not sufficiently emphasized its importance…. Celan was in fact intimately aware...